Releases

Biography

Before forming Risk Relay in 2001, the three core members of the band and friends since elementary school – drummer Brian Buccellato, vocalist/guitarist Ed Dailey, and guitarist Mark Weinberg – had already been playing music together in various projects since their high school days, inspired by acts such as Unwound and Drive Like Jehu. Risk Relay quickly gained popularity in the New Brunswick, NJ, basement/punk rock scene, becoming known for short bursts of frantic energy highlighted by angular, intertwining guitars and technically precise rhythmic changes. Their first record, Low Frequency Listener, released in 2003 by the Ernest Jenning Record Company and recorded at drummer Buccellato’s home basement studio, was met with positive reviews and led to appearances at larger venues such as Maxwell’s, The Knitting Factory, and an East Coast tour in 2004.

After a hiatus due to personnel changes, they released their next record Curses Sing in 2007, again recorded by Buccellato for the Ernest Jenning label. Curses Sing expanded the band’s sonic palette, with instrumental dirges leading into math-rock riffs. Shortly after this release current bassist Steve Bumgarner joined the band and began working with the other members on the songs that would eventually become 2013’s After Fake End Times, also released by Ernest Jenning. By this point the band was experimenting with slower-burning, sludgier anthems. After surviving another long hiatus, it was important for the band to come back with an array of songs that displayed a renewal and progression from the tone and pace of the previous albums.

In 2016 Risk Relay will release their fourth record, and first for the Nefarious Industries label, entitled As We Descend, a concept record based on John Uri Lloyd’s 1895 sci-fi classic Etidorhpa. With six expansive new movements, As We Descend was engineered by Buccellato at his new studio Volume IV in New Brunswick. The album showcases a very apparent evolution in the band’s songwriting and arrangements, while still nodding to the frenetic buzz of their earlier work. The trademark dissonant guitar interplay from Dailey and Weinberg remains, as do the intricate, syncopated rhythms, brought by Buccellato’s drumming and Bumgarner’s basslines. Dailey’s intelligent lyrics guide the listener on a journey through the abyss, reflecting the emotional distress of the book’s main character, longing for both what he’s already seen and what remains to be seen. In the end, re-emerging from the subterranean, we encounter the band’s most engaging collection of songs to date. The album will be released both on vinyl and in digital formats this November.

Risk Relay has been lucky enough to share bills with many greats acts over the years, including Screaming Females, Ex-Models, Arab on Radar, Rye Coalition, Night Birds, A Fucking Elephant, East of the Wall, Bangladeafy, Roadside Graves, Dianogah, NY in 64, and many more. The band will continue to play shows in the NY/NJ area to support the upcoming release.

[photo credit Gabrielle Dolceamore]

Media

News

“Stabbing, interlocking guitar work, somewhere between the Pixies, Linoleum, and Sonic Youth, is given weight by the probing might of the bass and the thunderous drums which roil and burn underneath the scratchy surface of the track. […] It’s the sort of potent, atypical art-punk that would have had me scouring the physical record shops for days if I’d come across it on the radio. It defies convention and draws upon myriad influences to offer something that is original, exciting and evocative.” – SonicAbuse

“For some bands, it’s the journey, not the destination that counts, and that’s certainly been the case for Risk Relay. […] As We Descend follows Risk Relay‘s modus operandi of mixing post-punk guitars with declamatory, half spoke/half sung vocals, with ample space in each song for striking instrumental passages.” – NJ.com

As We Descend, the conceptual and eclectic fourth LP from New Jersey-based RISK RELAY, is out this Friday through Nefarious Industries. Advancing the album’s street date, Treble has hosted an exclusive stream of the entire sprawling release.

The theme of As We Descend is inspired by the late nineteenth-century science fiction novel by John Uri Lloyd, Etidorhpa, which depicts the story of a man banished to an alternate world within the center of the Earth. As We Descend was recorded between March and June of 2016 in full analog to 2” tape, engineered by RISK RELAY drummer Brian Buccellato at his own Volume IV studio in New Brunswick, and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. The ideas communicated in John Uri Lloyd’s Etidorhpa reflect into the lyrics and theme of As We Descend, as well as its cover artwork by Bryan Elkins.

Treble offers alongside the stream of As We Descend, “The previously released ‘My Weight Disappearing’ and ‘The Meeting’ showcased a mixture of Unsane-style brutality and Drive Like Jehu inspired post-hardcore rhythms. Today, however, Treble is premiering the album in its entirety, which is alternately pummeling and precise, menacing and meticulous. It’s heavy, yet melodic, and maintains at least one tentacle in any number of heavy, noisy, intense styles.”

As We Descend will see release through Nefarious Industries next Friday, November 18th on all digital platforms as well as 180-gram 12” LP, with 200 copies on white vinyl and 220 copies on black. Preorders are posted HERE.

RISK RELAY will be supporting As We Descend live, including a show the day after its release, this Saturday, November 19th in Highland Park. The band has booked, a live radio performance on Rutgers’ WRSU’s Overnight Sensations on December 9th, a record release show in Jersey City on December 10th, and a show January 14th in Philadelphia, with more live actions being booked.

Closing a three-year gap between releases, RISK RELAY sought out new inspirational energy and direction for the creation of this new concept recording. While there is still a nod to the frenetic buzz of their earlier work, As We Descend showcases a very apparent evolution in RISK RELAY’s songwriting and arrangements. The trademark dissonant guitar interplay from Ed Dailey and Mark Weinberg remains, as do the intricate, syncopated rhythms, brought by Buccellato’s drumming and Steve Bumgarner’s basslines. Dailey’s intelligent lyrics guide the listener on a journey through the abyss, reflecting the emotional distress of the book’s main character, longing for both what he’s seen and what remains to be seen. Some of the vocal effects were achieved by setting up mics in large, echoing staircases, and Buccellato deployed his feedback guitar technique on the song “My Weight Disappearing,” which has been a staple of every album thus far. In the end, re-emerging from the subterranean, we encounter the band’s most engaging collection of songs to date.

New Jersey’s RISK RELAY — now just over a week from releasing their fourth full-length, As We Descend, through Nefarious Industries – offer a new preview of the record with, “The Meeting,” through a premiere of the song at New Noise Magazine.

The theme of As We Descend is inspired by the late nineteenth-century science fiction novel by John Uri Lloyd, Etidorhpa, which depicts the story of a man banished to an alternate world within the center of the Earth. Offers RISK RELAY with the new single, “The Meeting” is the story of the restless mind of Llewellyn Drury, alone in his 1850s Cincinnati apartment, trying to find meaning through a dimly lit library of ancient texts as choking clouds of coal soot exhale against his window panes. The feeling of complete isolation descends like the creeping city murk but a restless mind conjures a white bearded phantom to impart the secrets of hidden science.”

Tune in to New Noise Magazine to stream RISK RELAY’s “The Meeting”RIGHT HERE.

Closing a three-year gap between releases, RISK RELAY sought out new inspirational energy and direction for the creation of this new concept recording. As We Descend was recorded between March and June of 2016 in full analog to 2” tape, engineered by RISK RELAY drummer Brian Buccellato at his own Volume IV studio in New Brunswick, and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. The ideas communicated in John Uri Lloyd’s Etidorhpa reflect into the lyrics and theme of As We Descend, as well as its cover artwork by Bryan Elkins.

As We Descend will see release through Nefarious Industries next Friday, November 18th on all digital platforms as well as 180-gram 12” LP, with 200 copies on white vinyl and 220 copies on black. Preorders are posted HERE.

RISK RELAY continues to book new shows in support of As We Descend, including a set on November 19th in Highland Park, a live radio performance on Rutgers’ WRSU’s Overnight Sensations on December 9th, and a record release show in Jersey City on December 10th, with more shows to be announced shortly.

As New Jersey-based quartet RISK RELAY finalizes their fourth full-length, As We Descend, through Nefarious Industries in November, the public’s first preview of the album has been made available through an exclusive stream of the track “My Weight Disappearing,” now playing at Metal Insider.

Closing a three-year gap between releases, RISK RELAY sought out new inspirational energy and direction for the creation of this new concept recording. As We Descend was recorded between March and June of 2016 in full analog to 2” tape, engineered by RISK RELAY drummer Brian Buccellato at his own Volume IV studio in New Brunswick, and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. The lyrics for As We Descend are inspired by the late nineteenth-century science fiction novel, Etidorhpa, which depicts the story of a man banished to an alternate world within the center of the Earth, this theme also reflected in the artwork created by Bryan Elkins.

Collectively offers RISK RELAY of the first single from As We Descend, “’My Weight Disappearing’ is a reminder to the idle thinker that the droning process and the clawing mundane is driven out with a ghost of another kind. Led by his faceless guide through a fungus forest, a drunkard’s den and endless trenches of stalagmites, ‘The-Man-Who-Did-It’ loses the weight of his conventional reasoning and witnesses the promise of future science.”

Metal Insider notes of the track, “it’s heavy, but also draws from Amphetamine Reptile-style noise rock and the New Brunswick basement show indie scene that the band emerged from. It’s a unique, yet familiar sound.”

As We Descend will see release through Nefarious Industries on November 18th on all digital platforms as well as 180-gram 12” LP, with 200 copies on white vinyl and 220 copies on black. Preorders are now live at THIS LOCATION.

While there is still a nod to the frenetic buzz of their earlier work, As We Descend showcases a very apparent evolution in RISK RELAY’s songwriting and arrangements. The trademark dissonant guitar interplay from Ed Dailey and Mark Weinberg remains, as do the intricate, syncopated rhythms, brought by Buccellato’s drumming and Steve Bumgarner’s basslines. Dailey’s intelligent lyrics guide the listener on a journey through the abyss, reflecting the emotional distress of the book’s main character, longing for both what he’s seen and what remains to be seen. Some of the vocal effects were achieved by setting up mics in large, echoing staircases, and Buccellato deployed his feedback guitar technique on the song “My Weight Disappearing,” which has been a staple of every album thus far. In the end, re-emerging from the subterranean, we encounter the band’s most engaging collection of songs to date.

RISK RELAY continues to book new shows in support of As We Descend, including a record release show on December 10th, with more live actions to be announced soon.

Closing a three-year gap since their prior album, New Jersey-based quartet RISK RELAY has issued the details of their upcoming fourth album, As We Descend, now confirmed for release through Nefarious Industries this November.

RISK RELAY sought out new inspirational energy and direction for the creation of this new concept recording. Recorded between March and June of 2016 in full analog to 2” tape, engineered by RISK RELAY drummer Brian Buccellato at his own Volume IV studio in New Brunswick, after which it was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. The lyrics for As We Descend are inspired by the late nineteenth-century science fiction novel, Etidorhpa, which depicts the story of a man banished to an alternate world within the center of the Earth, this theme also reflected in the artwork created by Bryan Elkins.

While there is still a nod to the frenetic buzz of their earlier work, As We Descend showcases a very apparent evolution in RISK RELAY’s songwriting and arrangements. The trademark dissonant guitar interplay from Ed Dailey and Mark Weinberg remains, as do the intricate, syncopated rhythms, brought by Buccellato’s drumming and Steve Bumgarner’s basslines. Dailey’s intelligent lyrics guide the listener on a journey through the abyss, reflecting the emotional distress of the book’s main character, longing for both what he’s seen and what remains to be seen. Some of the vocal effects were achieved by setting up mics in large, echoing staircases, and Buccellato deployed his feedback guitar technique on the song “My Weight Disappearing,” which has been a staple of every album thus far. In the end, re-emerging from the subterranean, we encounter the band’s most engaging collection of songs to date.

As We Descend will see release through Nefarious Industries on November 18th on all digital platforms as well as 12” LP. Audio samples, preorder info, and much more will be issued in the weeks ahead.

“A speck of dust on the edge of immensity, I clung to the stone cliff, gazing into the depths of that immeasurable void.” – John Uri Lloyd

RISK RELAY, sixteen-year veterans of the New Jersey local music scene, are excited to be releasing their fourth record, As We Descend, this November, the band’s first album for Nefarious Industries.

Closing a three-year gap in releases, RISK RELAY sought out new inspirational energy and direction for the creations of this new concept recording, the lyrics and artwork for As We Descend inspired by the late nineteenth-century science fiction novel, Etidorhpa, which depicts the story of a man banished to an alternate world within the center of the Earth.

With six expansive new movements, As We Descend was engineered by RISK RELAY drummer Brian Buccellato at his own Volume IV studio in New Brunswick. The album showcases a very apparent evolution in the band’s songwriting and arrangements, while there is still a nod to the frenetic buzz of their earlier work. The trademark dissonant guitar interplay from Ed Dailey and Mark Weinberg remains, as do the intricate, syncopated rhythms, brought by Buccellato’s drumming and Steve Bumgarner’s basslines. Dailey’s intelligent lyrics guide the listener on a journey through the abyss, reflecting the emotional distress of the book’s main character, longing for both what he’s seen and what remains to be seen. In the end, re-emerging from the subterranean, we encounter the band’s most engaging collection of songs to date.

RISK RELAY has shared bills with and become fans of many of the acts within the Nefarious Industries family over the years, and the members are very excited to be joining the label’s roster. As We Descend will arrive in vinyl and digital formats in November 2016. An exact street date, album artwork, and more info on the album will be released in the coming weeks. In the meantime, RISK RELAY will be actively performing throughout the region on a regular basis leading up to and through the release of As We Descend this Autumn.